


Suddendly you were someone else

by madveta



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Anxiety, F/F, Kya accepts that, Kya has trust issues, Lin has a hard time understanding emotions, Neurodivergent Lin Beifong, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sweet, no beta we die like the red lotus, they balance each other out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:49:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29685624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madveta/pseuds/madveta
Summary: Kya and Lin start to realize that perhaps all they need in their lives is each other
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	Suddendly you were someone else

LIN

  
  


It had probably started the moment Lin agreed to go to this stupid dinner in the first place.

Everyone had been under quite a lot of stress ever since Kuvira’s attack on the city, and things were actually starting to settle.

That’s when Tenzin had the grand idea to organize a big get together (“just like when we were kids” he had said. Airhead.), insisting that it was the perfect occasion as Korra and Asami were coming back from their little vacation the next day (leave it to them to go on a vacation while everyone else was busy cleaning up the mess) and Kya was also coming back from the south pole.

At the mention of their aunt, the kids had immediately started to jump everywhere in excitement, while Su gave her sister her best puppy dog eyes, soon joined by Opal and the twins.

Lin had scoffed in their faces.

Long story short, she’d agreed.

And now that she was on Air Temple island, surrounded by overexcited kids and teenagers, she regretted her decision deeply.

She felt extremely uneasy, especially since Su and Opal had somehow managed to make her wear clothes that weren’t her armor. She’d told them that she was just too tired to fight them about it, but the truth is she just couldn’t bring herself to say no to them. She must be getting softer in her old age (not that she would ever admit it).

There were so many people trying to talk to her, but she just wanted to sulk in her corner with a glass of the fire whisky Bumi had managed to sneak in without Tenzin noticing.

She groaned internally when Pema announced that dinner was starting, but tried to reassure herself by thinking that it would soon be over.

She took a seat next to Asami, knowing that the girl was one of the rare people present that wouldn’t annoy her even if she decided to make conversation, though she was currently listening attentively to Korra animatedly telling a story (Lin wondered if she was actually listening, or if she was just busy giving Korra heart eyes).

But then, Meelo decided to sit to her right, and was already yelling something in her ear before she had the chance to show any sign of protest.

She thought. 

“Meelo, sweetie, I think you accidently took my seat.”

Lin turned around to see a smirking Kya looking at her nephew. She couldn’t repress a small gasp of surprise at the sight of her, as she (something else that Lin would never admit out loud) looked particularly gorgeous tonight.

She’d let her long silver hair out of its usual updo, and it was cascading down her body in soft waves. She wore a simple blue dress, but this one was a darker shade than her usual one, with long wide sleeves, and a slight cleavage.

Lin had always found Kya to be extremely pretty, ever since they were kids, but this sudden warmth in her chest… 

was unexpected, to say the least.

Lin only realized she had been staring when Meelo started protesting his aunt’s request.

“How dare you lie to my face, aunt Kya ? You and I both know there was nobody seating there !”

Kya chuckled upon hearing Meelo’s choice of words.

“You’re right, I was lying. But what is true is that your mom just told me she needs you in the kitchen. Apparently she has a ‘very’ important mission for you.”

That was enough for Meelo to jump out of his seat, giving a salute before rushing to the kitchen on an air scooter, knocking over everything that stood in his way.

Kya plopped down next to her with a laugh.

“That was definitely a lie too.”

Lin gave her a small smile, and the two held eye contact for a few seconds before Lin hurriedly looked away. She’d always found eye contact particularly overwhelming.

“Thank you for that. I know he’s your nephew but…”

“He’s a lot to handle. Don’t worry, it’s fine. I love him but I figured he would be a bit too much for you.”

Lin couldn’t help but notice Kya still arbored the same malicious smile as when they were teenagers. She felt a slight blush making its way onto her cheeks and looked down at her still empty plate before clearing her throat and asking :

“So, how long do you plan on staying in the city this time ?”

Kya looked startled that Lin would be the one initiating conversation, but her gaze softened quickly. She grabbed a plate of food someone had passed over to her, serving herself before handing it to Kya, who seemed to be lost in thought.

“I’m… not really sure actually. Haven’t thought about it too much. I definitely don’t want to go back to living in the South Pole full time. I hadn’t realized that I’d gotten into a very frustrating routine there until I came back to Air Temple Island a few years back.”

Lin raised a surprised eyebrow at that. Kya had never seemed to mind living down in the South Pole that much.

“So you’re going to go back to traveling around ?”

Kya seemed to consider it for a second, before wincing and shaking her head negatively.

“I don’t think so. Between the age of what, 20 ? and up until my forties I mostly traveled, but I was young and much more carefree than I am now. Also, don’t tell anyone, but I don’t think my old back would handle sleeping on all kinds of different surfaces each night as well as it used to.”

Lin actually let out a chuckle at that. She could definitely relate to that, but she refused to see any kind of doctor for her back until she was on the verge of dying.

“So ?”

Kya had gotten distracted, and was now busy making funny faces at Rohan who was sitting across from her, laughing hysterically.

“I’m sorry. So what ?”

“What are you planning on doing ?”

“Oh yeah, that.”

She looked back at Rohan, who was now busy laughing at his sisters fighting over food, while Pema could be heard scolding them in the background. And then, with a fond expression on her face, answered :

“I’m going to stay here. Maybe not full time, I’ll go back to see mom when Bumi and Ten get too annoying, and come back here when mom gets too annoying. But I really think I’ll crash here long enough to try and find a place of my own.”

Lin couldn’t explain why hearing that made her feel so excited, and she tried to hide from Kya as best as she could.

“I’m glad to hear that. I could advise you on that. Being the chief of police, you tend to know where people should and shouldn’t live inside of this wretched city.”

Kya laughed at Lin’s dry humor, and if Lin paid more attention than she should've to its raspy sound or to the way Kya’s eyes crinkled in the corners in an almost cute way, she elected to ignore it.

…

  
  


The rest of the evening went by much faster than Lin had expected it to.

She and Kya spoke together about their respective lives for the past years all throughout dinner, before moving to sit on the living room’s couch, and Lin had found herself enjoying the conversation so much she was almost able to forget about the overwhelming amount of people in the room.

It wasn’t before hearing Meelo and Rohan whining about having to go to bed before their sisters that Lin started to feel uncomfortable again, her awareness of her surroundings coming back full force.

Sensing that, Kya got her attention by poking her lightly in the leg.

“Hey. Come on, let’s take a walk around the Island. The last ferry is in an hour, you’ll grab this one.”

Lin nodded in agreement, and hurriedly got out of the house, Kya following close behind.

When she arrived on the porch, she was in no way prepared for the sight that greeted her.

They’d apparently interrupted a pretty heavy makeout session between the Avatar and Asami, who was pressed up against the wall, her hands much too close to Korra’s behind for the Chief’s taste.

Kya bumping into her brought her back to the present.

“Ouch, Lin ! Why did you stop...Oh. 

Lin elbowed her in the ribs after hearing her snicker behind her back and whisper a small ‘called it’.

The two girls before them jumped away from each other, looking utterly horrified and embarrassed. Their faces were still flushed, and Lin noticed the both of them trying desperately to get their breathing under control. Asami was the first to speak, whilst the girl next to her was busy rubbing the back of her neck in her usual awkward demeanor.

“I’m so sorry…”

She didn’t have a chance to finish, as Kya cut her off while grabbing Lin by the arm and hurrying her forward.

“You don’t have to explain yourselves, sweethearts. We won’t tell anyone until you’re ready to, don’t worry. Have fun !”

She pulled Lin behind her, and waited until they were far enough from the house before doubling over in laughter that she tried to quiet as best as she could and exclaimed :

“Well that was…!”

“Predictable.” Lin offered, finishing her sentence.

That only seemed to cause Kya to laugh louder.

“It was ! But getting caught making out with your girlfriend where everyone could see you really is a beginner’s mistake !”

Lin scoffed at that and turned to look at Kya who was now wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Speaking from experience, I suppose.”

Kya stopped laughing at that. She looked at Lin straight in the eyes and said :

“You know it.” And the smirk was back on her face.

Lin scoffed at her again and started walking along the shore. Kya quickly caught up to her and started to waterbend some water, twirling it in the air before them, and Lin felt herself being hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia.

“I miss Aunt Katara.”

She regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. For all of her reserved nature, it always seemed like, sometimes, she couldn’t control what came out of her mouth. People had told her all along her childhood that she constantly had the wrong thing to say at the wrong time, and so the more she grew, the less she spoke.

She was so scared to see Kya’s expression. She would surely think Lin went too in depth. After all, they hadn’t seen each other in years, and it had been even longer since they’d had an actual conversation, and Lin had probably just made Kya uncomfortable, starting to talk about her feelings out of the blue. Kya was gentle and respectful in nature, the true daughter of her parents, and was certainly going to call it a night while trying not to make Lin think it was her fault, even though it clearly was…

“She misses you, too.” Kya had stopped playing with the water, and was now looking at Lin with a quizzical look on her face, but did not seem to be judging her. Lin couldn’t place the look in her eyes, but she could tell it wasn’t a bad one, which was enough for her right about now. She was relieved enough that Kya had answered her question almost casually. “She mentions you pretty often, you know. I know you had your reasons to distance yourself from her, from all of us, after the breakup, but you know her feelings towards you are still the same as when you were little, and you’re welcome to visit her any time.”

Lin felt the guilt wrench her stomach, and nausea almost overtook her. She hadn’t wanted to distance herself from any of them, especially not Katara, but she hadn’t known how to face them, and so she had preferred to hide. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face Katara one-on-one quite yet, though. Seeing Bumi and Kya again had actually been pretty easy, considering neither of them pushed her to talk to them, which is something that Katara, whilst not too harshly, would most likely do. But Lin figured she could at least try for the woman who’d always been more of her mother to her than her own mother.

Lin released a long sigh before telling Kya “I’ll think about it.”

…

The rest of the hour passed in a blur, the both of them starting to feel tired from the evening, and they had, at some point, unconsciously started to make their way towards the port, a few people that had been at the party but weren’t staying the night already waiting there.

When the last ferry finally appeared, Kya turned to look at Lin. She tried to say something, but an accidental yawn made its way out of her mouth instead, and neither of them could contain a tired chuckle at that.

“I think it’s time I head back.” She stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, which was so unlike her that Lin almost found herself asking if something was wrong. Kya exhaled through her nose and ran a hand through her hair before saying : “Look, I really liked catching up with you, and I know you are the very Chief of Police, but expect me to drop by your office for lunch or dinner every now and then. You know, make sure you don’t overwork yourself and all.” She laughed softly, and Lin found herself agreeing with her.

“That sounds nice. Although, you know I probably won’t have time to do that very often…”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Have a good night, Lin. Take care.” She offered a sweet smile, and squeezed Lin’s forearm slightly in lieu of goodbye, knowing Lin’s aversion of physical contact.

She started making her way back towards the house. And once Lin had managed to get on the boat, she couldn’t name the warm feeling in her chest as she sneaked a last glance at Kya’s disappearing figure.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)  
> I plan to switch povs between the two each chapter  
> I'm not really sure how long this is going to be, I've never written a long work before  
> Don't hesitate to give some feedback, and I'm always open to ideas if you have any <3  
> you can follow me on twitter, I'll probably talk about the evolution of this fic quite a lot if you want to stay updated! (same @)


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